Little seen of Blagojevich in last week

Friday

Jun 29, 2007 at 12:01 AMJun 29, 2007 at 8:45 PM

A look at capitol activity in the last week

Capitol Bureau Staff

Play of the Week
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> Gov. Rod Blagojevich managed to avoid Springfield - with all its inherent challenges - for most of the week.
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> The Capitol is just packed with lawmakers and other officials who want facetime with the governor, not to mention pesky reporters with questions about the ongoing federal corruption probe of the governor's administration.
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> "I don't think he's been here in the last two days," cracked Steve Brown, spokesman for House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, on Thursday.
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> The House voted on Wednesday to implement a temporary state spending plan for the month of July. The Senate concurred on Friday.
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> Blagojevich, having previously signed off on the one-month budget deal, appeared to skirt the Capitol scene for much of the week. Then again, Blagojevich spokesman Gerardo Cardenas said the governor did visit the Capitol on Wednesday and that he maybe stopped by on other days, too.
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> Head Scratcher
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> State Rep. Paul Froehlich surprised many when he announced he was ditching the Republican Party to become a Democrat. Froehlich, a House member since 2003, also served as Schaumburg Township Republican Committeeman, but he quit that job - obviously.
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> Wednesday marked Froehlich's debut as a House Democrat, and his former GOP colleagues didn't let his change of heart go unnoticed. Every day the House is in session, Democrats and Republicans report the names of members with excused absences. Rep. Mike Bost of Murphysboro, who handles that chore for the Republicans, kiddingly started to say that Froehlich had an excused absence. Bost then interrupted himself and said: "No, I'm sorry. All Republicans are here today."
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> Bost continued to play prankster later when he indirectly suggested a trade of sorts: Froehlich for Rep. Jack Franks, a conservative Democrat who frequently criticizes Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
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> "Red rover, red rover," said Bost. "Send Jack Franks on over."
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> Quotes of Note
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> "It is a resolution, so there's no penalty for failure to achieve that goal -- other than the Earth will continue to warm." Rep. Elaine Nekritz, D-Northbrook, describing a legislative resolution recommending that new and renovated state buildings meet specified limits on greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. It passed a House committee.
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> "I'd have to say I was very disappointed in Senator Dillard and his judgment." Illinois Senate Republican Leader Frank Watson of Greenville after one of his caucus members, Kirk Dillard of Hinsdale, appeared in a Barack Obama campaign commercial. Obama, a U.S. senator from Chicago, is seeking the Democratic nomination for president.
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> Numbers to Know:
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> 31. The number of days the state can continue to pay its bills under the temporary budget approved this week.
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> 1. The number of legislators who flipped from one political party affiliation to another this week.
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> Coming Up
> The budget approved this week will keep the state spending only through the end of July. So by the end of July, Blagojevich and legislative leaders must work through yet another round of negotiations and try to reach a deal on a spending plan for the entire fiscal year.
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Capitol Notebook is compiled by staffers Adriana Colindres, Dana Heupel, Doug Finke and Aaron Chambers.
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